sluj Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 Tomorrow I'm doing a transport for a week-old litter of puppies and their mother. I've never handled puppies so small, and just wondered if ya'll can help me figure out my packing list. So far I have: - crate (big enough for puppies, unfortunately not large enough for mom too). - tether for mom - disposable bedding for crate - tarp to protect car - towel to provide more confort than tarp - lots of cool water - collapsable water bowl - chewy bone for mom - poop baggies - paper towels - maps! and directions .....? Am I missing something important? And will the pups be ok, separated from mom for perhaps 2 hours? Appreciate any thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 It sounds like you have just about everything you'll need. Why the tarp? Could you just put towls down? That might be more comfortable for them, and they wouldn't be hearing the noise from the tarp. Maybe you should open the crate so the Mom can see them, and go in if she needs to? Good luck. I hope everything goes smooth for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluj Posted May 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 tarp 'cause I hate trying to get puppy poop out of carpet. And I don't have enough towels to make an adequately protective layer. I was afraid of puppies getting loose, but it doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. Ok, just cause it's a funny story (to my tired brain, at least): I'm browsing on criagslist pet section yesterday, as I often do. I see the following: Need Transport Dunnigan (near Davis) to San Mateo - 10 Rescue Puppies (san mateo)Reply to: comm-********@craigslist.org Date: 2007-05-15, 12:15PM PDT Please help! We have a momma and 10 puppies in Dunnigan who need to get transported to San Mateo Thursday for Pound Puppy Rescue. Can you help?! Please call 510 *** **** ASAP! Pound Puppy Rescue is a 501©3 nonprofit founded in 2001. We rescue approximately 100 puppies every year. We are a volunteer organization whose purpose is to keep puppies out of overcrowded shelters where they are at risk for disease and euthanasia. Puppies are fostered in volunteer foster homes where we can keep the puppies healthy, socialized, and in their litter until they are old enough to be placed in permanent, loving homes. All the puppies we rescue come to us looking for love and a "forever" home. Our hope is that all puppies placed through our organization will never experience being homeless or unloved again. I call the number and say, ok I can go up there, can anyone meet me on my side of the bay? The nice lady on the other end says she'll find out and call me back. No call that afternoon. No call that evening. Call this morning that I miss. I try calling back and don't get through. I try again noontime. Attend a meeting, then call again. Finally, around four, I get through. She's thrilled, lets me know where to go, and that she'll come to my house once I've picked them up. I set about figuring the route, cleaning the car, finding some padding for the crate, looking for a water bowl. Hit upon the brilliant idea of stuffing a burlap sack with shredded paper. Reclaim burlap sack from dog, who thinks it's a chew toy. Fill the other one, and find towels to go on top. While I'm doing this, another call. "They have another four puppies, a bit older maybe 5-10 pounds, that SF SPCA has offered to take. Can you pick them up too?" Ok, there's room. I have a Jeep! Only problem - I just have one (small) crate. Big enough to hold the first batch of puppies, perhaps. She suggests using a pair of cardboard boxes for the tiny puppies, and putting the big puppies in the crate. Ok, I have boxes. Hunt up the boxes, find another sack, shred more padding for the inside, figure out a configuration for crate and boxes. Take my dog out for a walk. .... Get back and find a message: "Can you take the rest of the litter?" um. "not to pressure you or anything, but they're going to be executed - my expression for putting down" Ok. I have a Jeep. As long as we're not talking pyrs. "we don't really know how big they are" big enough to climb out of a cardboard box? Ok, so I find another box, find another sack, dig up some papers I don't need for shredding, make another water bowl. Reconfigure. Collapse. Think to check Craigslist for cheap crates. Find not one, but two! Send off emails and break for dinner. It's now about 7:30. Get email about 8 inviting me to come get one crate at 9. Crate Allie, head out and pick it up. Come home and reconfigure. Get back inside and notice the second reply. Shoot! I'm out of money - run five blocks to atm, then back, then drive to the second house. Get crate. Reconfigure. Spend rest of evening thinking, how the heck am I going to survive 18 dogs in a Jeep?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pax Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 The expression "how many angels fit on the head of a pin" comes to mind. Good vibes for you for hanging in there and helping. And you can never have too many tarps. Tie or weight them down so they can't paw them up. Do you have a gate that seperates the cargo area from the driving area? Also, two mama dogs that are strangers to each other might be fussy about letting another mama near their puppies. Can the littlest ones ride in the back seat in their box/crate arrangement to allow for a little mental space for the mothers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 Wow! It reminds me a little of the 101 Dalmations story. Wishing you the best of luck and to hear how it all turns out. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerie Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 OH wow....best of luck with that! You're an angel for doing it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickkers Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 You are AWESOME! I am amazed on a daily basis at how wonderful people are. By the way... I grew up in San Mateo...went to Aragon High School... small world isn't it?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluj Posted May 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 Awww. Thanks, you guys. Actually, this is much easier than letting those little monsters into my house, the way many of you do. Well, I'm back, and all went well despite considerable sleep lost to imagining (and dreaming) all the permutations of what could go wrong. Oddly, this isn't the first time I've dreamt of oversleeping, but it was the most poignant. Anyways, I had a surprisingly easy drive up to the hand-off point. To my surprise, there were two other cars whose drivers were also picking up dogs for different bay-area rescues. It was a bit of a relief too, because after yesterday, I was half-expecting the shelter volunteer to ask if I could squeeze in "just one more". With two other people to pick from, that somehoe seemed less likely. So I thought 14 pups + a dog was some sort of record for an ordinary car (there were only 7, rather than 10, in the original litter). Well, check this out: In addition to the 15 I was taking, the poor lady had two (big) huskies, and three medium to large mixes. Each with their own crate. It took a while to sort everyone out, get the big dogs pottied, let the puppies in with mom. I took advantage of the time (as did two co-pilots) to snuggle with the big pups. Some photos posted in the gallery section: http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=11171 Got everyone situated in my car, and it was an easy ride back. Now I just have to hose the puppy pee out of the crate pads, and try to convince Allie I still love her best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 Wow! That's all I can say! (Except "Way to go!", of course.) It looks like a job well done. Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted May 18, 2007 Report Share Posted May 18, 2007 Whew, good job! I'm in awe! Thanks for helping those cute little pups. I had read somewhere that because there are so many homeless dogs put down in central California, sometimes dogs (especially puppies) are brought in to shelters or rescues in the Bay area, where spaying and neutering programs are pretty successful and there aren't so many excess dogs. Would this be an example? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluj Posted May 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2007 I had read somewhere that because there are so many homeless dogs put down in central California, sometimes dogs (especially puppies) are brought in to shelters or rescues in the Bay area, where spaying and neutering programs are pretty successful and there aren't so many excess dogs. Would this be an example? The euthanasia rates in the greater metropolitan area are much lower, from what I've read (30-50%, as opposed to 70-90% in rural areas). In the extremely affluent Marin County, demand even outstrips supply. I guess I would say, while there are excess mixes and pit bulls, there don't seem to be terribly many puppies or popular purebreds in local shelters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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